1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the restraint of cargo within the interior of automotive vehicles and, more particularly, to cargo restraint devices that are engagable with cargo to limit movement thereof within an automotive vehicle cargo area.
2. Background of the Invention
The placement of cargo into the cargo area of an automotive vehicle, such as the rear cargo area of a van or sport utility vehicle, is typically placed loosely within the confines of the cargo area, allowing the cargo to shift from one position to another within the interior of the vehicle as the vehicle moves along the highway. A number of devices have been created to restrain the movement of such cargo, including straps, netting and organizers.
A typical usage of the cargo area would be to store groceries that have been placed in bags at the grocery store to transport the groceries from the store to the place of residence. Such grocery bags will often be formed from plastic film and be provided with handles. Such grocery bags are not independently stable and will frequently shift within the confines of the automotive cargo area, often spilling the contents to scatter over the entire cargo area.
A line can be strung from one attachment clasp to another engaging the handles of the grocery bags therebetween to restrain the movement of the grocery bags within the interior of the cargo area. Not only are the grocery bags restricted in movement, but the grocery bags are also maintained in an upright orientation which assists in keeping the groceries within the confines of the grocery bags so the groceries themselves do not roll around within the interior cargo area.
The primary purpose of the cargo hooks is to keep the groceries from shifting around within the interior of the automotive cargo area, thus providing the user or operator of the automobile management of their groceries and other cargo. The use of disconnectable lines, such as bungee cords, to extend from one attachment point to another, intertwining with the grocery bags to restrict their movement, results in the problem of managing and storing the detachable lines.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,673, issued to S. C. Nelson on Apr. 15, 1969, the cargo in the form of large containers, such as luggage and boxes, are restrained from movement within the trunk of an automobile by a line that weaves from one attachment point to another from side to side within the trunk restraining the cargo against the forward wall of the trunk cavity. Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,771, issued to Timothy Callihan on Oct. 23, 1990, cargo is restrained against the front wall of a pickup truck bed by a panel of flexible material that is connected to attachment points on opposing lateral sides of the cargo.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,452, issued to Michael Kauskey on May 16, 2000, the attachment points are formed within a removable wall that is selectively mounted in the back of a pick-up truck and the cargo is restrained from movement by a bungee cord that wraps around the cargo and connects to attachment points on opposite sides of the cargo. The Kauskey patent also teaches that grocery bags having handles can be restrained from movement by hooking the handles of the grocery bags over upwardly extending projections that are formed in the removable wall.
Similar to the Kauskey patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,971, issued to Isidore Dorman on Feb. 22, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,457, issued to Harlan Kifer on May 16, 1995; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,294, granted to Mark Heinz on Jun. 23, 1998, all are directed to an elevated hook device that engages the handles of grocery bags or other similar devices to hold the bags in an upright orientation. In at least one embodiment of the hook device in the Heinz patent, a movable cover can be deployed to aesthetically hide the hook device when not being utilized.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,160, issued to Donal Moore on Feb. 29, 2000, discloses a net cargo system in which the connection points of the cargo net are detachably mounted on retainer hooks that are selectively attachable to the edge of the trunk cavity of an automotive vehicle.
It would be desirable to provide a retractable hook apparatus that when not being deployed is retracted out of sight, but when deployed can extend from one hook apparatus to another to engage cargo therebetween to restrain the movement of the cargo within the confines of the interior cargo area of an automotive vehicle.